exchange gifts 2

I've recieved some more gifts. Other writers writing my name. None of the work in the following three pictures is mine.

battle by snatch316

battle by emcy

battle by dust

getting priorities straight

I went to take out some money from the ATM to pay back my mom for some spraypaint products that I bought with her credit card. I didn't have enough in my account for it, I was broke. The account was empty for the first time in 3 years. I've always been able to at least cover all my expences. I tried to think of what the problem was. I wasn't buying videogames anymore except for that one videogame about spraypainting, dvd's (expept for graff dvd's) or useless junk, it had been a year scince I bought any expensive new electronic gizmo, I hadn't made any purchace over $300 in the last year except for paint a few times, I havent been eating out as much, I just got a raise at work and a bonus for all the overtime i've been doing... hmmm... what have i been spending money on? oh yeah, I bought some paint today and yesterday. Wow that's what it is... paint and tips and cab fares getting to the walls and graf dvd's and markers and inks and rollers and gallons and magazines and books and a camera to take pictures of it all. At the realization that I had spent an obsene amout of money there was the temptation to turn to depair and say it was all a waste.

But was it really? Yes and No, I'm happy with my spending even if I'm flat broke now. Cuz I know most of it went to a good cause. But in the future I'll buy less junk like bombing dvd's, magazines, and books. I don't regret the paint I don't think I ever will but I'll buy cheeper runnier paint next time for the fills. I'm also not gonna get a scanner, scaffolding or that fancy paint machine i've been thinking of.

Piece #10

Matthew 27:27-31 Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. "Hail, king of the Jews!" they said. They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

I woke up in the morning with this great idea, I'd been talking to Fasm about a trick that he had done that makes the inline look like shiny gold. So first thing in the morning I drew the sketch and then in the afternoon bought some yellow and brown paint and a co-worker let me borrow thier car and I went to the wall. I prayed for the yellow to work and it didin't run much. While I was finishing up this group of kids were talking and one needed a ride back to the place I was going. This kid was tall, thin had a pair of converse shoes on and kept talking about punk rock bands and what it ment to be a real punk. It was like I ran into myself when I was his age full of lofty dreams and an attitude that the world was too stupid to see how wrong they were and it was my duty to inform them of this. Me and Derek (battle jr) had a good conversation about punk rock bands I used to listen to and what it ment to be a poser and a sell out. But then as we passed a church he put up his middle finger and shouted "F U JESUS" it drifted to more substantial topics of philosophy, his catholic upbringing, the church and Jesus. He really looked up to me and gave some thought to what I had to say. I thought "what did I need to hear back then". The answer 1) the church isn't Jesus and 2) that I didn't know as much as I thought. He agreed on those two points but we couldn't agree on whether "indistructable" was a good album.

The write advise

I talked to Fasm, a christian graff writer who runs Gospel Graffiti. It was really neat to get his perspective on my work and he had some useful suggestions on getting useful suggestions. As some of you may know I've been really working hard at getting better style and also painting better. It's been a little bit of an obsession of mine to critique my own work I guess because, Fasm said he's never met annother writer who does as much critique as I do. I really wanted to talk to him because his style is somewhat similar to mine and I really (in a way) wanted him to tell me everything I was doing wrong so I could work on it and get better. That didn't really happen we just talked about stuff, old types of paint, canada, freewalls, the upcoming auggust event in mexico, and little tricks he's done with paint. He told me just to do my own thing and not take too seriously other people's suggestions. Which is exactly what I needed to hear.

Sketches 17

Jaydedskateboards.com

Jesus

E=mcy

Said

Awww

I showed up at the flower place today where I did my "awesome" mural to talk to the owner. He said...

"I've got four comments on the mural and one of them was good. Everybody liked it but they didn't think the piece fit into the image of the store. In peticular the God is Awesome part I mean I'm a christian too everybody at this store is a christian it's just I've worked hard for this store and your mural will cost us business. People found God is Awesome offensive and they were christians too. I mean you expect to see that kind of thing in a church but not on a wall. So I gotta get that thing off the wall on saturday."

I get the whole thing but one thing I just can't understand is how God is Awesome is more offensive to christians than the swear words that were there before. Three people (some or all of which were christian) came off the street and complained that a generic message of God is Awesome was offensive. I didn't say Jesus is the only way and everybody else is going to hell. G-O-D is more offensive than *-*-*-*. That's a sign of the times and it's sad. We as christians gotta work hard at our public image and not just sit back and think everything's Ok because really, people hate us, they hate our message and they want to sterilize us... Only in the church they say...

Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. John 3:20

Piece #9

"You are awesome, O God, in your sanctuary; the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people. Praise be to God!" Psalm 68:35